2026 Toyota HiLux BEV review: Australian first drive

Electrification has finally come to the mighty Toyota HiLux; we all knew this day would come.

Tightening emissions standards are forcing car makers to reduce the environmental impact of their vehicles, and that means no stone can be left unturned, especially for best-sellers like the HiLux.

The problem is that, while it might be electric, this really isn’t the vehicle that’s going to do it for most people.

Here’s why.

Rather than bringing a hybrid or plug-in hybrid powertrain to the HiLux, as Toyota has done for most of its fleet, most recently the RAV4 and LandCruiser 300 Series heavyweights, the brand has chosen to introduce an electric HiLux with limited appeal.

The car maker expects to sell about 500 examples this year, 300 of which have already been accounted for since it first went on sale in May, mostly to fleet buyers, governments, and for use in the mines.

It is also available to private buyers and comes in the HiLux’s two mid-spec grades, the SR and SR5, priced from $74,990 and $82,990, respectively, before on-road costs.

The SR also comes in cab-chassis form for $76,490 plus on-roads.

For comparison, Toyota expects to sell around 50,000 diesel HiLuxes in 2026. And an equivalent diesel will cost you about $17,000 less than this will.

Changes for the electric HiLux SR, from the regular SR trim, include a four-speaker sound system instead of eight, no wireless smartphone charger or fog lamps, and a plastic steering wheel instead of a synthetic leather-look one.

To get a wireless phone charger, you’ll need to step up to the SR5. A bit of a miss, in my opinion, given that it costs more than $80,000. The SR also only has manual seat adjustment and fabric seats, which isn't great value for money. 

The SR5, in contrast, gains synthetic leather-look upholstery, heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver's seat with lumbar support, and a heated steering wheel.

Other differences from the rest of the HiLux line-up include 17-inch aero-style alloy wheels, a 1500-watt plug socket in the centre console, dual-zone climate control, front and rear disc brakes, a shift-by-wire toggle gear selector, and an electric parking brake.

To sweeten the deal, Toyota also offers a free 7kW home charger for private customers, and the HiLux does still come with a full-size spare wheel.

Aside from the jazzy new wheels, which I actually quite like, but don’t quite feel mining-spec, the electric HiLux doesn’t look all that different from the diesel-powered new model that launched earlier this year.

The front grille is closed off, and it gains some ‘BEV’ badges so you know which version it is. The SR5 also has different bumpers, rear privacy glass and auto-folding heated side mirrors.

Inside, it still feels very regular HiLux. This is not a vehicle that has gone electric and done away with all the buttons, switches and everything else.

It’s simple and rugged, with climate-control buttons you can actually use, two glove boxes, and extra cupholders that pop out of the dashboard, like the diesel.

What it also shares, however, is dark upholstery that can make the cabin feel gloomy, a headliner that feels quite cheap, and limited space in the back seats and in the door pockets.

The infotainment system is shared with the regular model, too, using the same 12.3-inch screen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and built-in satellite navigation. All grades benefit from a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, normally reserved for the SR5 and higher.

Both rows get USB ports, for a total of four, with Type-C slots in the front and Type-A in the rear, as well as two 12V sockets and the aforementioned 1500-watt/220V one with a three-pin plug to power small electrical devices.

The biggest problem with the HiLux BEV, as it’s officially named, is its mediocre driving range.

Toyota quotes 315km of driving range for the SR and SR5, and 245km for the SR cab-chassis, according to the more lenient NEDC standard. 

Measured by the more accurate WLTP standard, the former falls to 240km, and there isn’t an official claim for the latter, although it’s thought to be in the region of 180–190km.

That’s almost lower than any other EV on the market.

Energy consumption is rated at 25.6 kilowatt-hours per 100 kilometres for the cab-chassis and 20.2kWh/100km for the dual-cab NEDC, but in the admittedly short testing window (of the dual-cab only), I saw 24.5kWh/100km.

Toyota says this version of the HiLux is a “back-to-base” vehicle, with its intended audience of mostly fleets, mines, and governments able to pop it back on charge regularly, rather than using it over long distances.

The 59.2kWh lithium-ion battery can be topped up from 10 to 80 per cent using a 150kW DC fast charger in 30 minutes, but a 10kW AC wallbox from 10 to 100 per cent will take around 6.5 hours.

The HiLux BEV comes with a five-star ANCAP safety rating, shared with the rest of the model range, with scores over 80 per cent in all of the four categories.

Like its non-electric counterparts, it features Toyota’s Safety Sense technology, including things like autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, speed sign recognition, and more.

All grades also come with front and rear parking sensors and a decent-quality 360-degree camera.

With most time at launch spent off-road rather than on, it wouldn’t be fair to dig into the effectiveness of the advanced driver assistance systems too much. 

What I did find, however, was that the lane-centring feature kept pulling the vehicle sharply, rather than gently, if it started to drift.

The HiLux BEV replaces the regular model’s 2.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with two electric motors that, like the battery, are mounted in the front and rear transaxles to protect them from harsh off-road impacts.

The front motor produces 82kW/206Nm and the rear motor 129kW/269Nm for a combined 144kW.

And gone are the six-speed manual and auto transmissions, swapped instead for a single-speed reduction-gear automatic, though it gains full-time all-wheel drive over the diesel’s part-time system.

For the first time in any fully electric Toyota, it also has six driving modes covering multiple terrains, but on the flip side, low-range gearing has been deleted, as have locking differentials.

HiLux fans will note that the BEV’s outputs are lower than the diesel’s 150kW/500Nm, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s slow. 

The truth is that it feels very much the same. If you’re a HiLux owner and want the pace to feel familiar, that may be good news. If you were hoping for that instant burst of torque typical of EVs, then not so much.

Without a range of gears to power through, though, transitioning from slow speeds to faster ones is smoother, so it may seem faster even if it really isn’t.

What it lacks is out-and-out grunt. This is not a ute designed for towing, heavy loads or serious off-roading, and Toyota has said as much.

Its braked towing capacity is just 2000kg and its payload is 725kg.

Comparatively, the diesel can tow 3500kg and take a 1000kg payload.

The BEV gains the same front suspension and comfort-tuning changes as the new HiLux range, including stiffer spring rates and revised damper settings.

At the rear, it features a leaf-sprung suspension with the transaxle mounted on the chassis frame to reduce unsprung weight and maintain a rigid axle for better off-road performance.

If the new HiLux’s ride is stiff, the BEV takes it a step further and is far too firm. It’s hard to imagine it being developed with comfort in mind, because, especially off-road, it’s a real bone-shaker.

The electronically assisted power steering delivers a direct and responsive feel and, alongside its relatively slim proportions, helps the HiLux sneak through tight gaps and manoeuvre around obstacles with ease.

The BEV gets large brakes to provide solid stopping power and recover as much energy as possible to the battery, but the regenerative force can be quite aggressive. 

At the launch, I actually found I had to turn the downhill assist off while driving along the tracks at Scenic Rim Adventure Park, because the two combined were making the HiLux lurch about and feel less well controlled.

Grip from the Bridgestone Dueler all-terrains is excellent, but they can be quite noisy on the bitumen, as can the wind at higher speeds.

The biggest thing of all to get used to with this electric HiLux is the absence of the grumbly 2.8-litre turbo-diesel. Nothing can quite prepare you for watching a HiLux drive across the dirt emitting only the gentlest of hums. It’s surreal. 

I love the idea of an electric HiLux. A zero-emissions version of one of Australia’s favourite utes could be a great thing. 

But this isn’t where it needs to be to be great. In fairness, Toyota knows that.

This made sense as the first step change for the nameplate off the back of the mining trial that kicked off in 2024, and it will serve a purpose for some, helping to decarbonise a small chunk of those sectors.

However, it costs more and has a very limited driving range, towing capacity and payload, which undermine its usefulness for most Australians.

In many ways, though, it is still the HiLux we know and love, and that fact alone bodes well for what’s to come.